If Only You Knew
by Yass
Summary: Sarah is leaving for college. Like many others faced with this daunting task, she decides she must leave all childhood things behind her. However, Jareth has other plans...
1. Prologue

****

If Only You Knew

Chapter 1: Obsessions

Sarah Williams. Tall. Slender. Beautiful.

Oh what he wouldn't do to have her again. Those thirteen fateful hours over three years ago had been more than Jareth could ever hope for again. She was everything he had ever wanted, and everything he could never have. He was fae, a creature so utterly beautiful and so utterly immortal that any liaison with a mortal would only lead to a tragic ending. But still, as he looked at her through the crystal he held within one gloved hand, he could not help but feel that hopeless attraction towards her.

She was incredible. Somehow she had managed to go through high school and never once lose her romantic dramatic side. She had joined chess club, the debate team, and her schools mock trial team, become the perfect student, and still she had found time to be an actress. Jareth would watch her at each performance… Every time he saw her he realized the same thing. 

She was stunning.

She was stunning, and she was leaving. Leaving her home, leaving her past, and leaving _him._ Everything he had ever longed for was packing her bags and preparing to leave him forever. College. He almost spat at the word. He had offered her an entire _kingdom_, and she had turned it down in favor of an overcrowded school that could not ever _possibly _teach her all he could. 

He had to have her. One way or the other, Sarah Williams would be _his._ He chuckled as a plan took form in his mind. "Oh my dear _sweet_ Sarah, Pack your bags. Say goodbye to your loved ones. For tomorrow you shall leave, but not to your precious college. As of tomorrow… you shall be _mine."_


	2. Author's Note Please Read

Ok everyone, this is the part where I explain my utter patheticness. (Is patheticness even a word? I don't think it is… oh well)  For the last week and half, this beloved writer has suffered from the worst case of insomnia ever… The sad truth of it is I haven't slept for the past 11 days… at all. For any of you who have ever managed to pull off such a feat, you will know where I am going with this. The human brain cannot last so long without sleep. It starts to do things to the sufferer. Mainly… delusions… lots and lots of delusions… Oh and rambling. The insomniac tends to veer off onto tangents that shouldn't exist…. So where was I? Oh yes… so on my 11th night without sleep, I decided I was going to write a fanfic. Usually I tend to keep to original stories, and my usual magazine articles, but since my mind was giving me weird delusions that seemed to include Ludo and Jareth and Sarah, I thought a Labyrinth fic needed to be written. So I did… but I fear that my writing at this time is going to be less than its best.

 So here comes the plea: If my story gets crappy… or _is_ crappy, or anything along those lines, PLEASE tell me. I want constructive criticisms. I want people's honest thoughts. If you find a typo, TELL me and I shall fix it. Positive comments are always welcome, but what I am really looking for is my faults. I plan on developing this story, even after my mind decides it's gonna let me sleep again. In the meantime, I plan on writing at least once chapter every day. SO far I just have that prologue… If anyone wants to volunteer as a beta that would also be welcome… ok, enough with the rambling, I better get to writing the first real chapter….

~Yass 


	3. Saying Goodbye

            "Ok, I've got all my clothes packed except for the stuff I'm wearing today and tomorrow. I packed my stereo, my TV, my new fridge and microwave. My school books, my notebooks, pens, pencils, my calculator, my address book with all my friends' numbers, my calendar, my shoes, my hair brush, my new toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, makeup, body splash, my… my… what am I forgetting?"

            "To breathe?" Karen laughed at her stepdaughter from the doorway to Sarah's bedroom.

            Sarah grinned at her Karen as she surveyed her boxes thoughtfully. "I know, but I'm so excited!" she laughed at herself, 'I can't believe I made it into Harvard! I mean… wow… tomorrow I'm going to be a member of the top school in the entire United States…" 

            Karen smiled proudly, "I know," she paused and her expression grew serious, "Sarah? Seriously, you know how proud your father and I are of you, right? You've grown into an incredibly beautiful young woman, and we're all so proud of you."

            Sarah blushed, and hugged her stepmother. "Thanks Karen," she whispered. "You don't know how much that means to me." 

            Karen squeezed her extra-tight for a moment, then released her. "Ok, enough of the mushy stuff, we can save that for tomorrow when you leave." She turned to leave and called over her shoulder "By the way, dinner should be ready within half an hour. You should try and relax before then. Tomorrow's the big day"

            Sarah nodded, and sat down on her bed. As soon as Karen left the room she reached beneath her pillow and pulled out the one book she had failed to find a place for. The small red book had been her best friend for the past 5 years. Ever since Linda had left and Karen had moved in. Those first few years had been tough. Sarah had lashed out at the utter _unfairness_ of everything that had happened to her. She hadn't asked for her mother to leave, or for her father to find some new _woman_ to try and be her replacement. Then they'd had a _child together, and she was stuck with having to __baby sit every weekend. _

            Then, one night over three years ago, Sarah was forced to grow up. She learned to face the consequences of her actions, and also that life was not fair. She also learned what it was like to have to give up one's dreams in order to do the right thing. It had been one of the hardest moments ever for her. Sarah had truly been tempted to take the crystal, and leave behind her life. But she couldn't. She could never do that to her family. It was then that she realized that Karen and Toby _were_ her family, and no matter what, they always would be. Sarah had returned home with two realizations. Nothing was as it seemed, and Life isn't fair, but that's the way it is. Those two morals had seen Sarah through the past three years. Now as she stared down at the book that chronicled the most amazing event of her life, Sarah found she could not keep it. 

            As absurd as it seemed, Sarah could not keep the best part of her childhood. _I'm leaving for Harvard tomorrow… This is a part of my childhood. And I am no longer a child. I have grown, and I have to leave this part of me behind. I am going to be a great politician some day. Maybe even President. I can't keep these foolish fantasies._

            Sighing, Sarah wiped a tear from her cheek and rising from her bed she dropped the book into the large black trash bag waiting to be taken to the Salvation Army. Some young girl would find the book, and hopefully they would learn as much from it as she had. 

            _I have to do this. My life here is over. Tomorrow is the start of my new life. Nothing will ever be the same…_

Sarah glanced once more around the room that had been her sanctuary for her entire life before closing the door on her past.


	4. um what?

If you're not one of the reviewers, and you don't want to read this, skip ahead to the asterisks. Ok, first of all I want to thank everyone for the constructive criticisms they sent me. For those of you who brought up the common complaints (aka: Why the hell are Karen and Sarah getting along??? And the "What's up with Sarah wanting to be a _politician" I have an answer to both. First of all, in my mind Karen represents the loss of the dreamer in Sarah. When in a household where there are two of opposite minds, it comes down to this: Physical fights, or one person giving in. Usually, it is the child that gives in to the elder, and crushes their own dreams to make life within the household bearable. I have seen this happen within many families, my own included. When a dreamer has an authority who __abhors dreaming, the dreamer is usually forced to stop dreaming. This makes the dreamer's life at home easier to endure, and is sometimes mistaken for happiness. Now, the _Politician_ remarks I have received. Yes, I have made Sarah's goal to be a __politician. Now, like Karen, I see politicians as the 'anti-fantasy' in the world. Within the last three years since the Labyrinth, Sarah has slowly let go of her fantasy side. She still loves it, but when faced with the real world, she finds she cannot keep it. Unlike many other writers who hold to the idea that Sarah would never let go of her fantasy side, I took another route - The path that actually does happen most often in life. Look at your own parents, and ask yourself "where they always this… _serious???_ The answer is no. For example my dad used to love dragons… now he's has a double PHD in physics and bioengineering… They used to have dreams as well. But real life crushed those dreams much like I have had the world crush Sarah's. But don't despair! My delusions have told me that Sarah will not be oppressed forever. Now… on with the chapter! _

Oh, and I forgot this before. Please don't begrudge this of me, but sleep deprivations does make one forgetful. Me no own, you no sue? Okay? And this stands for the other chapters as well. I own _none_ of them.

* * * * 

            Jareth smirked at the sight before him. His dearest Sarah was asleep on her bed, curled into what one would assume was the 'fetal' position. She never used to sleep like that. But over the past few years she had changed. Jareth blamed that despicable stepmother. Sarah had become everyone's idea of the 'perfect success' but Jareth was one of the few who saw the price she had paid for her achievements.

            She was incredible. Jareth could never deny that. But somehow he felt that she would have been even more so had she held onto her dreams. Slowly, little by little she had stopped calling upon her friends at the underground. By no means did that mean _he_ had stopped watching her, but her other friends had eventually come to the understanding that she had outgrown them.

              However much he despised the goals that Sarah had set, he also felt a sense of pride in them. She wanted to be a leader. She wanted to _lead. Maybe he could persuade her to lead beside him… as his queen. At that moment Sarah flopped over and, as if in response to his silent question, muttered the word "… no…" _

            "Oh Sarah," Jareth laughed, staring down at her, "what are you dreaming of? What is happening inside that incredible brain of yours?" 

            He twirled a crystal on his fingertips, and sent it towards her sleeping form. The crystal, as delicate and as fragile as a bubble landed atop her head, and slowly seeped in, revealing her dream to Jareth as he was projected into it. 

            "No…. no please…" Sarah was running. She didn't know from what, but she knew she had to keep running. There was a light ahead of her, a light that glowed an almost unnatural orange and fiery red.  

            "Please… please, let me go" she was crying now, and she didn't know why. All she knew was that whatever was chasing her was catching up, and she'd never escape it if it caught her. The light was just out of her grasp. 

            "Please…. Please, someone help me. I don't want to die like this!"        There was a stitch in her side, and she was gasping for breath. The light was just out of her reach; she could almost touch it, but didn't know if she would make it. 

            "NO!" with one last desperate gasp, she lunged forward, and someone helped pull her into the light. Looking up she came face to face with _Him, the goblin King. He sneered down at her, and she backed away. "What… what…."_

            Sarah shot forward in bed, gasping for breath. She finished her sentence, "what… the… _hell?"_


	5. a gift?

Okay ok, so the delusions are making me do weird things right now. I want people to tell me where they want me to go with this story (now I may not do as you say, but I will certainly listen to advice.) I kind of have an idea of where I want this to go, but to be perfectly honest, I just write what the hallucinations tell me to. (Ok… that sounded really incredibly insane, but I swear I'm not… the way I see it, since the hallucinations are born from my subconscious, the delusions must simply be my subconscious telling me what it wants written….) ok ok, so that does sound psychotic. But I swear I am not ready for the mental institution yet! As soon as sleep comes, I should be back to my regular own writing self again… 

I don't own it… in fact, I don't own anything… except for my computer and a printer, but every time I hit print the computer screen flashes with a big sign saying "Ha ha, you loser, I won't work for you" (and no, that's not a hallucination, that's my brother's fault…) So sue me if you will, I have nothing for you to take….

* * * *

            Sarah lay in her bed for a long time, slowly trying to regain her breath. The dream had made no sense… In fact, it had to be one of the strangest dreams she'd ever had. The fact that the goblin king was in it didn't help at all either. Sure she'd had dreams about her trip to the labyrinth, and sure many of them had included the goblin king. But never as a _rescuer_. In her dreams he was always either the villain… or… but no, never as a rescuer.

            _Ok Sarah, relax, she scolded herself,__ You're just stressed about college tomorrow. It's the big day, and you're just a bit nervous. It's no big deal. _

            But somehow she couldn't bring herself to believe that. The dream had _meant something to her. It had a meaning behind it. Dreams were where people worked out inner conflicts. Without dreams, problems would just escalate till the point of a mental breakdown. She would look up a dream diary when she got settled. In the meantime, she needed to sleep. This was her last night in her own bed, in her own house. Tomorrow everything would change._

            She closed her eyes, and lay back into the bed. It was then that she felt the fingers touch her cheek. Her eyes shot open and were greeted with the sight of….

Nothing.

There was nothing there. She was alone. Sitting up though, she found what had touched her cheek. A long, glistening white feather lay against her chest. She examined the feather for a long time, running it up and down the side of her hand, as she played with it. The barbs were all tightly knit together, meaning that the bird had to be in excellent shape, and also very clean. One could always tell about a bird from the state of its feathers. A feather that was raggedy and pulled apart easily meant the bird was in poor health. A feather that clumped oddly meant that the bird rarely groomed. However this long, perfectly pristine white feather spoke aeons to Sarah. 

            It also left her without a single doubt in her mind as to who had left it there. It had been _him_, the goblin king. She remembered how he had transformed into an owl during their last encounter. A large _white_ owl to be exact. Looking at the feather, she could only come to the conclusion that it was a wing feather… probably from him changing has he had touched her.

            The thought thrilled and angered her. He had been _in her room. He had been watching her as she slept. In fact… he had probably been the one to send her that dream! Sarah flung herself out of bed, and stalked towards her mirror. She stopped halfway there, and debated over what she should do. _

            _Hmmm, confront the Goblin King, or go back to sleep…she was seriously tempted to do either one. Finally common sense won out and she returned to her bed. _He won't bother me anymore after tomorrow. If he does I'll put a stop to it.__

            Closing her eyes once again, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * * *

            Jareth smirked as he watched her from within his crystal. He could almost hear her thoughts as she examined his 'gift' to her. She would only realize too late tomorrow that it was meant as a warning of what was to come. He had warned her of his presence, now she had no excuse to be surprised of what was to come.

            "Oh Sarah, you shall play my game. And you shall play it well…" he sneered at her sleeping form, "I could never lose an opponent like you. Not after I have waited so long…"

            Tomorrow… it couldn't come too soon….

* * * * 

            Ok everyone, unfortunately I have to go tour colleges tomorrow, so I won't get much opportunity to write for the next few days. I should have the next chapter up by next Wednesday though. (Alas I made the mistake of scoring high on my SAT's. Now I actually have to _look_ at colleges, and you know… _try_. Which seriously interferes with my laziness rule… but ah well, c'est la vie)


	6. Shoulda seen this coming

Hahaha, would you believe it? The big blackout that plagued the northeast coast affected me too. And I didn't even lose any power! My mom's friend was staying with us from Australia, and she was _supposed_ to leave in time for my trip, but since the airlines were down, her flight was cancelled. Thus, my trip was cancelled. Which means of course that I can write another chapter for you!

An update on the sleep thing… I have managed to sleep for 3 straight hours, but for some reason after that my body refuses to go back into REM again. The few dreams I do have are short and confusing, thus leaving me, (also known to many as Yazzy-the-dreamer) without much to base my stories feelings upon. Maybe you other writers will disagree with me on this, but when I write a story, I usually try and recapture a certain feeling I have the night before, while asleep, within my writing. Without dreams to help determine my writings, I find myself moving as though through molasses with this story. (Oh, and the hallucinations are also very distracting… _very_ distracting….)

Anyways, I don't own the characters. I never have, I never will. I may dream, hope and sometimes hallucinate that I do, but I don't… so please don't sue me?

* * * *

"Okay… so, I'm here because…"

"Because I wished it."

"Okay. And Hoggle is here because…"

"Because I wished it."

"uh-huh… I see. And the other goblins are here because…"

"Because it'd damned impossible to get rid of them. You know that as well as I."

"Oh. Right. Gotcha…" Sarah rolled her eyes in frustration. She had been in the castle for about 6 hours now, but any answers she tried to wheedle out of the Goblin King were calmly and bluntly deflected. He had mentioned a game to her, but then told her that all would be explained later, and he would not tell her any more that afternoon.

* * * *

She had awoken that morning, just like any other morning. She had rolled over, moaned at the light shining in her eyes, thrown the covers back atop her head, and tried to drift back to sleep. The pounding on the door, from a tired and disgruntled Karen (who had never once been a morning person) telling her to get out of bed quickly lest she cross her stepmother before she'd had some coffee, drove her from the warmth of the cozy blankets. 

It was only when in the midst of a hot shower that the events of the night before had washed over her. At first she had believed the icy feeling driving the breath from her lungs had been from the shock of the remembrance, but then she realized it was simply Karen flushing the downstairs toilet. 

_Ok, pull yourself together. You had a strange dream last night. You woke up and found out the goblin King had been in your room. You're as pissed as hell, but none of that matters anymore, cause you're going to college, and he can't touch you there._

Sarah drowned herself once more in the torrential of steamy water before shutting off the tap, and wrapping a towel around herself. 

Sarah herself was not a morning person, but she knew that crossing Karen in the morning was like placing your heart on the tip of a sword held by a person with a violent twitch. So she always made sure that she left plenty of hot water in the shower for her Stepmother, and that the floor was never sopping wet when she left the bathroom. 

__

Coffee… need coffee… 

Sarah refused to think anymore until her brain had received enough caffeine to trigger its 'On' switch. Staggering downstairs in a long black bathrobe, she grabbed her mug, which proudly proclaimed "Don't F#$% with me, I haven't had my coffee yet", and poured herself a cup. Usually she drank it with lots of cream and sugar, but today she just downed it black, like an alcoholic at a bar.

__

Ok, engines slowly turning…Brain cells slowly awakening…Urge to scream now held complete in check…It is now safe to fully think about what happened last night… 

And think she did. She thought about it a lot. She thought about it as she finished loading her bags into the cab taking her to the airport. She thought about it as she kissed her family good bye. She thought about it as she sat in the backseat of the cab, twirling the white feather between to fingers. And she _really_ thought about it when the feather changed right in her hands into a note that said 

__

"come play my game, Sarah. I shall teach you things no one else will ever know… ~Signed, 

His Majesty, The Goblin King,

JARETH"

And when the note burst into flame, and she had dropped it to the floor, only to look up and see that her cab driver was missing, she _really _thought about it.

Then she only had time to think one final fleeting thought before everything went white.

__

Oh… Crap…


	7. Deja Vu

Ok, so I am at a pointing my life when there are too few hours in the days and nights to accomplish all I need to. I have written and am now directing and performing in a play with my drama club. I am in the middle of _three jobs right now - my work at the magazines, and my day job playing games and reading to the elderly. I am also taking several college courses over the summer, and preparing for my senior year of high school. Among other things I am searching for my future college. Alas, all these take up the hours of my day, and I have very little time to concentrate on writing._

            I have received several reviews which complain about the shortness of my chapters, and I seriously wish to apologize for that. As I have mentioned before, I have stopped sleeping properly. Insomnia is a cruel condition, and makes thinking hard. But it also adds to my hours in which I can work. This means I can write about one chapter a day for you, but the chapters will be short. My only other option would be to update less, and have more content within each chapter. However from my own experiences, I've hated having to wait for days for a writer to update, so I plan to continue on in this fashion. Ok, I've said my piece, on with the show!

            Disclaimer: Not mine, someone else got to them first… 

* * * *

            Sarah groaned and rolled over. A sudden feeling of déjà vu came over her, and she realized that this was the _second_ time she had awoken in bed that day. The memories of the day came flooding back to her, and Sarah bolted straight up in bed. 

            "Jareth…" she hissed, her voice dripping with murderous venom.

            "Yes?" The voice startled her, and Sarah sprung around to meet an amused Goblin King. 

            "What's _going on???_" She asked as soon as she had regained her posture.

            "Whatever do you mean?" he responded innocently, but Sarah caught the mischievous glint in his mismatched eyes. She glared at him, wishing that daggers could come out of her very eyes and speed towards his perfectly sculptured face.

            "I _mean_ what am I doing here?" she gritted out from between clenched teeth, "and what were you doing in my bedroom last night?"

            _Oh Sarah, not what I wish I could have been…_

            "Merely warning you of my presence so that today would not come as such a shock, Sarah."

            She hated the way he said her name, his slight accent lilted the word in such a way that it sent chills tingling down her spine. She hated the way he looked at her as he spoke as well. He may be amused by the situation, but _she was most certainly not. _

            "Yeah… well, thanks. But you didn't answer my question. What am I doing here?"

            His eyes gleamed with some unknown emotion. "Sarah, I have lived a long time"

            She opened her mouth to interrupt, but he waved a hand at her, motioning for her silence, "I have lived too long without a worthy opponent. I have sought long and hard for someone who can match my wits and best me at my own game. You proved yourself to be that opponent. I let you leave after your last visit because you had proven worthy enough to defeat me. However I have strengthened since then, and I wish to match my wits against you one more time…"

            Sarah eyed him warily. Is that all he wanted? Another game? As if reading her thoughts, he continued.

            "The game of course has stakes to it. No decent game doesn't. However we shall discuss that at another time."

            Sarah glared at him, "screw that! I will not be subjugated to another game. I have a college to go to! I have classes! I have a _life _I need to live!"

            _But Sarah, you were not living were you… only in this way will you truly live. Play my game…experience life as it is meant to be._

"Sarah. You have no choice in the matter. Dinner is at 7. I expect you to be there" he slid his eyes over her attire, and she blushed as he looked her over, "I also expect you to be _properly_ attired." He turned away, but paused before leaving. 

"Oh… and Sarah?" She tilted her head, waiting for him to continue. He tossed a crystal at her, which she caught deftly in one hand despite the warning bells urging her not to. "Use this if you need me. If you were to wander alone by yourself, you might find yourself in the darkest corners of an oubliette, unable to get out. Such a pity."

And with that, Sarah Williams was once again alone in the room.


	8. And back to the present again

Author's Note: Ok, I want to apologize to everyone for my prolonged absence. I can explain. So I went to bed after posting last time, and it was around 5 AM. Not exactly a normal bedtime, but I figured since my trip was cancelled I had all the time in the world to sleep. However my mom wakes me up at 9 Am, says to me "Yaz? Do you think you could convince your father to drive us to Pittsburgh today? As in within an hour?" (I am amazed at the stock she places in my persuasion skills) I wanted to roll over and tell her I was sleeping. But instead, I rolled over, got up, and said "maybe. Let me go see." And to make a long story short, we were on the road exactly an hour later. I toured colleges, drove over 18 hours from Saturday morning till Tuesday evening, and went bungee jumping. Greatest 4 day vacation I've ever taken. When I got back, my play was in shambles. The music director took off to college with all the music, and I had to start from scratch in that area again. Anyways, now that I apologized, I shall start writing again.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of its characters.

* * * *

            Sarah fumed at Jareth. After finally 'dressing' herself, which involved changing into a dress that seemed to have a built in corset, she had summoned him and told him she wished to leave the room. The actual _summoning had almost been as hard as doing up the back of a corset by herself. Had she not worn one for several of her plays, she probably would have been totally lost, but as it was she had figured out a trick to tying it that included a bed post and a lot of grunting. _

            She had stared at the crystal for a long time, unsure of what to do with it. After Jareth had so _kindly_ left her to her privacy, she had placed it upon the bed, and left it there. After finishing her struggle with the dress she stared at it. 

            _He never told me how to summon him with it…_

            She glared at it and thought his name.

            Nothing.

            _Do I hold it? Rub it? Call out his name? hmm, rubbing and calling his name… definitely something I never want to hear myself think again…_

Sarah shook herself out of her reverie with that twisted thought, and snatched the crystal from her bed. She glared at it embedded in her hand and said "Jareth."

            Nothing.

            Sarah sighed, and growled to herself "Stupid arrogant bastard"

            "I resent that." 

            She jumped and whirled to find him once again behind her. "God damn it Jareth! Stop _doing _that!"

            Jareth smirked. "But you look so very amusing when you're surprised, Sarah" He stepped forward, and Sarah took a step away, backing into the bed.

            "We're going to have to work on your concept of personal space, Goblin King" she said dryly "It obviously needs work."

            "Oh Sarah… does my presence bother you?"

            "Bother... disturb… annoy… you name it, it does it, Goblin King." She sat down on the bed, and glared up at him. "I want out of here now, please. And then I'd like an explanation of what's going on. I'm sick of games, and just want to get on with this."

            Jareth's amused mask dropped for a moment, and she caught a glimpse of another fleeting emotion before it slammed back into place. 

            "Oh Sarah, but that is _exactly_ what you're here for. A game. Such a pity, you used to enjoy games."

            "I grew up, Goblin King." She sighed. Looking up, Sarah realized Jareth was no longer in front of her.

            "I've noticed."

            This time she did not jump, but merely flinched as she felt his breath on the back of her neck. She turned to meet his mischievous mismatched eyes. 

            "And what exactly do you mean by that, Goblin King?" she demanded, confusion creeping unwillingly into her voice.

            "Merely that I have noticed you have lost your childlike innocence and life. What happened to you Sarah? When did you become so… _dull?"_

            "When I realized that you can't live in a fantasy." She snapped, and flounced off the bed, whirling away from him. Jareth smirked, and gestured around them to the room.

            "Says whom? Dear Sarah, that is precisely where I live" his eyes glinted mischievously, "and if you lose, then that is precisely where _you will live too."_

            Her eyes widened in shock, and then anger. "What? I don't think so Goblin King. I have a life to get back to. I have a _family_ and a _home._ I have an entire _world up there, and it __doesn't include you!" she snarled at him in frustration._

            Jareth's eyes flashed with anger, before they cooled into iciness. "You forgot to say _It's not fair, Sarah. Did you forget that part?" he sneered._

            For a moment he thought Sarah would burst into tears. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, but when she spoke her voice was cool and detached. "No Goblin King. I didn't forget. I learned a long time ago life isn't fair. It never turns out the way you want it to. You just have to accept it. Hate it, loath it, fight it. But accept it without complaint. Life isn't fair, Goblin King, but that's the way it is."

            He was surprised at this answer, and it reflected in his voice. "I never expected that from you dearest Sarah. You _have_ grown."

            "May we leave now?" she muttered, folding her arms and hunching her shoulders, "Please? I'm tired of this room."

Jareth stared at her for a moment, then held out his hand towards her. She stared at it distrustfully. 

            "It won't bite, Sarah." He said softly. She rolled her eyes, and took his large leather clad hand with her much smaller one. The world gave a shuddering jolt around her, and the room evaporated into a gorgeous green garden. After a moment Jareth released her hand and gestured for her to turn around. She did, and gasped.

It was the labyrinth. 

Stretched out in all its magnificence before her, the labyrinth was awe inspiring. She was shocked at what she saw. The labyrinth was no longer the dark orange and grey she remembered it as. Now it was a lush green, a vicious black, and the sky above loomed red instead of orange. 

            "What happened to it?" she asked, unable to tear her eyes from the sight before her.

            His breath was on her neck again, and his gloved hands fell upon her shoulders. "You did"

            She turned, and stared at him questioningly. He answered the question burning within her eyes. "Dearest Sarah, you tore my labyrinth apart. You were the only one worthy enough to beat it, and so it had to change. If it could be defeated then it obviously was not strong enough. So it changed itself in order to beat someone with such a strong will as yours."

Sarah turned back to the labyrinth spread out before her. "Do I have to run it again?"

He didn't respond, but merely enveloped her in his arms. The world gave a shuddering jolt and she found herself in the throne room, surrounded by crazed goblins, wild chickens, and a dwarf, who cowered at the King standing at her back. 

"Hoggle!" Sarah cried, and rushed forward. Hoggle stepped away from her and raised his hands in defense. Sarah stopped, and stared painfully at him. "Hoggle? It's me. Sarah."

"I knows that!" he retorted angrily. "But the last time you gots all excited to see me I ended up hanging over the bog of Eternal Stench! I have no wish to repeat that encounter again"

Sarah whirled to face the Goblin King. "Do you feel like explaining yet?" she asked exasperatedly. "Or do you feel like running in circles around the subject again?"

            He smirked at her. "It depends. What do you wish to know?"

"Okay… so, I'm here because…"

"Because I wished it."

"Okay. And Hoggle is here because…"

"Because I wished it."

"uh-huh… I see. And the other goblins are here because…"

"Because it'd damned impossible to get rid of them. You know that as well as I."

"Oh. Right. Gotcha…" Sarah rolled her eyes in frustration. She could tell this was going to be a _long_ day. 

* * * *

            Ok. I sincerely apologize again for the long delay and the shortness of this chapter. Again I will try and update a lot more often, however with my play in the state it is right now, and school ready to start up as soon as this strike is over I don't know how often I can get back to this story. I will do my best to write one chapter a night, but if not you should get 2 chapters a week from now on. 

~Yass


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